After the match, Nigar Sultana spoke candidly about the emotions in the camp and the moments that turned the game away from Bangladesh.

Reflecting on the final overs, she said, “The way we batted the game shouldn’t have gone till the last over. In the second last over, we should have finished the game. But we couldn’t get any runs there and lost a couple of wickets. Sharmin Akhter and I were there, but she got a cramp, so she took of We were quite settled. Somewhere, somehow, we couldn’t get those boundaries, and it cost us our game.”

Speaking about the mood in the dressing room, the Bangladesh captain admitted how difficult it was to process the loss.

“It’s really heartbreaking because we had to win. This kind of match we played against three teams – England, South Africa and Sri Lanka. We have to think about it and take a lot of learning. In this kind of situation, how should we come out, and how should we get runs? The young players were playing in the middle, and in the crucial moments, they should learn.”
Reflecting on her 82-run partnership with Sharmin Akter, Nigar said it was built on intent and communication. “We lost three early wickets. We were trying to build the partnerships, and we were talking about whether we could play till the 30th or 40th over, then maybe we could finish the game before. We both batted really well and were comfortable in the middle. The run rate kept going, we tried a lot but couldn’t capitalise in the middle.”
On the recurring pattern of nail-biting finishes, she admitted the team needs to manage momentum better. “It was a mistake, maybe we are trying to build momentum but aren’t able to do that, with that total, why did we go till the last over?”

Nigar also emphasised the importance of domestic cricket in developing consistency and skill. “Playing domestically, your skills get better. But yes, playing domestic, building strengths and skill sets through that is necessary.”
When asked about Chamari Athapaththu’s pressure bowling, she reflected, “Chamari was trying to bowl at a block; we could have taken an option and could have batted well.”

Finally, on Sharmin Akter’s situation during the tense finish, Nigar clarified, “Yes, she was in thedugoutut but her full body was in cram.

We did not want to push her because we did not want to hurt her. After all, still one match is left.”

It was a match that will sting for a while, one that Bangladesh had within their grasp. But as Nigar said, it’s a night full of lessons that could define the team’s journey forward.

 

It was a match that will sting for a while, one that Bangladesh had within their grasp. But as Nigar said, it’s a night full of lessons that could define the team’s journey forward.